Isham Greene Harris, Governor of Tennessee, 1857-1862, was the son of a Methodist preacher and was born in Franklin county, Tennessee, February 10, 1818. He was educated at Winchester Academy. On leaving school he engaged in the mercantile business and soon made a nice little fortune. A little later he began the study of law [p.140] under his brother, William R. Harris. His success in law was as marked as had been his venture in business. In 1847 he entered politics and was elected to the state senate. From 1849-1853 he represented his district in Congress. In 1853 he moved to Memphis and in 1856 was candidate for elector for State-at-large on the ticket with Buchanan and Breckinridge. In this canvass Harris made a great reputation as a speaker and the year following was elected Governor, defeating Robert Hatton, the Whig candidate. He was re-elected in 1859 and 1861, and was thus Tennessee's war Governor. Under his administration Tennessee seceded from the Union, and raised over 100,000 men for the Confederacy. At the close of the war Harris returned to Memphis and practiced law until 1877, when he was elected to the United States Senate. He served in this capacity for twenty years. He was a man of strong personality. He died at Washington, July 8, 1897, in the seventy-ninth year of his age, and was buried at Memphis.
Tennessee, The Volunteer State, 1769-1923, Vol. 2 -- transcribed by, Amanda Jowers
